Sunday Planning with Free Download
If you follow me on Instagram @Soberly_Positive you know I talk a lot about planning your week on Sundays.
When I first quit, my goal was to remove controllable stress as much as possible and a part of that was feeling more in control of my calendar.
In the past, I tried all kinds of dry erase boards and planning methods yet I always felt like things would come up as a surprise and I was not prepared or “forgot”. I would never get up to go write on the board and it was always outdated. I felt like I was constantly behind and stressed out - and then when the weekend or opportunity would come up, I would “need” a drink from the stressful week I had…which really was not that bad, I was just unorganized working with a system that didn’t work for me and not creating time to dedicate to planning my week.
So when I quit I focused HEAVILY on routine. I created a new to me system and it is what works for me so sharing with you if it might work for you too!
What I do: I handwrite my weekly calendar every single Sunday. I keep it next to where I have my morning coffee so that I can reference it easily every single morning as a reminder for what I have going on that day.
I actually use a calendar from Target but seems it is discontinued - this one is available and pretty close for $5. There is also this option on Amazon that would also work. I created a page for you to download and print if that is easier that is really what I like. It is simple and not complicated or overwhelming. Stop using those calendars about reflecting on your week.. or what you’re grateful for - the more you’re asking to fill out the more it overwhelms and the less you’ll use it! (at least that was the case for me!)
Here is my system:
I put appointments in my phone as an ongoing basis as they come up (for example, when I make my dentist appt in 6 months, I put it in my phone at that moment. I do the same for sports games, events, etc). Then, on Sundays, I sit down at my desk and take about 5-10 minutes to transfer my phone calendar to my hand written calendar for THAT WEEK ONLY.
This calendar is for personal events/appointments only - this is not a work calendar. This is not an hourly calendar. This is’t for things you do every day. This is things that you need to prepare for THIS WEEK a high-level view of your week for things out of the ordinary. Sometimes I also fill out the following week.
I include: appointments, practices, games, meetings, spirit week days, reminders - things like that. For me, I do also include my son’s upcoming tests so I can know what days I need to remind him to study for what.
This then triggers me to say: ok, we have a game tomorrow, I need to wash the jersey and find the stuff for that tonight. Or, Ok, my son’s Valentine’s Party is on Friday, let’s order those and get that done today. Or, oh yeah, tomorrow is the book fair, add cash to the account… whatever small thing it is - I do whatever I can for the week on Sunday.
I also include a few top level to do list items: examples would be: rescheduling an appointment, making an appointment, things like that. For me, I do not include things like grocery shop here, but you could. I do not get everything done most weeks and then I just transfer that over to the next week to do, rip off the page and move forward to the next week.
That’s it! I hope it helps. Set aside 10ish minutes on Sunday to plan and prep for your weekly calendar. Then, every single morning I reference it as a reminder.
Happy planning!
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